Whitney Elizabeth (@HairArtisan916) of Sacramento, CA, finds inspiration from other artists, especially Guy Tang and his timeless, beautiful and wearable designs. MODERN was inspired by Whitney and this gorgeous transformation that she posted on her Instagram page. 

"Color Corrections and transformations are my favorites," says Whitney. "This client found me via my 'before and after' pictures when she was in a hair emergency after a hair catastrophe. She was a victim of an uneven damaged and spotty ombre. The hair was damaged and dry and color varied from level 3 natural root that transitioned right into a dark band of color where the stylist tried matching her ashy natural level 3 to an almost black band. It probably occured in the lightening process. My client originally wanted a level 9-10 cool rooty blonde Balayage/Ombre and ideally an easy grow out. At this point she had already spent 10 hours getting her hair colored to what you see in the before picture."

Whitney jumped in to save the day, correcting to a breathtaking blonde, informing her client that in order to make the transition beautiful the root would need to be lightened.

Here she shares the HOW TO:

Step 1: Apply Schwarzkopf BlondMe Lightener with 7 volume to attack the band of black that started an inch from the natural level 3 ash. Cover one to two inches where needed.

Step 2: Tone each level as needed (to remove warmth) with Paul Mitchell the Color 7A and 8A. Lift dark area to level 6.

Step 3: Lift the root with Schwarzkopf 6,1 and Blue Booster 30 volume developer. Shampoo and blow dry.

Step 4: At this point hair was a beautiful Ashy brown on root transitioning to a pretty neutral and sandy level 7 and 8 on ends. Now balayage throughout the hair using Schwarzkopf BlondMe Lightener with 7 volume developer (her hair was fragile).

Step 5: Lift to the desired lightness and then rinse. Tone with PM Shines equal parts 9A and 9P.

Timing: Color Correction took 4 hours in total.